50,000 Degrees Celsius
by The-7th-Star
Summary: The stars are made of fire, and their story made of stars. (A collection of Nalu drabbles.)
1. Heroes and Nerds

She was the last person he expected to run into, but, alas, there she was.

She stood in front of him, in all her perfect makeup and matching clothing, with a Captain America pin on her surely over-priced purse, next to one featuring Johnny Blaze, of all things, and one with the sign of SHEILD. She looked surprised too, to see him here, but it took only a few moments before her face lit up and she grinned. "Hi! Natsu, right? I didn't know you like superheroes."

He nodded. "Since when have you?" he asked, a little accusing. This was _his_ world after all, and he didn't want to share it with the newest, but already popular, girl in school. She didn't seem to notice.

"Well, my mother loved them, Ghost Rider the most, but anything Marvel was great," she explained. "She gave me my first batch of comics, and I ate them right up." Lucy sighed, as if remembering. "Then I moved here, of course, and I met Romeo! You must know him, he's my neighbor."

"Yeah, he comes here all the time." The little traitor. He didn't understand that the casual observer could not just _come into_ the greatest comic book shop on earth, or at least, as far as Natsu was concerned. The boy had a real love of the genre, but wasn't the best judge of whom else did. Natsu watched as she leaned down to read the cover of the newest volume of "Fantastic Four."

"He caught sight of some of my drawings and suggested this place to me." She straightened up and took a deep breath, as if tasting the comics in the air, closing her eyes. "And it's great." He felt his defenses begin to crumble at her smile, just a bit, as it was so honest.

"You draw?"

"Mhm!" Her hand went to her purse, and she glanced around, as if about to tell a secret. "Do you…" She looked really nervous, all the sudden, and he remembered that no matter what appearances, she _was_ the new girl, with no friends to her name. "Do you want to see?" she offered.

"Sure," Natsu said, and she slipped a sketchbook out of her bag, flipping it to a completed page of a hand-drawn comic, inked and colored and all. He leaned forward, careful not to touch the paper, because _that_ was a sin above all sins but spoiling. She was good, he admitted. "What's her name?" He gestured to the one that was obviously the main character, with long blue hair and a power quite obviously related to water from the panels.

"Aquarius," Lucy said, leaning over to point to spots on her paper. "And he's Scorpio, kind of an anti-hero. Everything is based off of the zodiacs." The passion was clear in her voice. Natsu was a fan of passion.

"Who's this one?" He pointed. She didn't seem to quite fit in with the others, a blond in a simpler outfit, though seemingly the brains of the excursion. She was in headquarters, but her impact on the story was clear. Lucy swallowed before smiling, if a little duller.

"That's Layla. She has cancer. She's named after my mother."

The unspoken message clicked in Natsu's brain. "Umm…"

Lucy turned away, towards another new release. "I haven't read this one yet."

"How about this?" Perhaps he had judged her wrong. Maybe he wouldn't mind if she came here more often, to escape in the world of superheroes.

And maybe he'd show her his comic, one day.


	2. Banana Pancakes

**AN: This story will be a collection of unrelated Nalu drabbles and oneshots from my tumblr. Rated T for the occasional curse word in the occasional drabble.**

* * *

She woke up to a suspiciously upper floor and an empty bed. Someone had turned off her alarm clock. Sitting up with a groan, Lucy could hear the usual sounds of chaos, courtesy of her children and Natsu, though the seemed rather muted. As if the were actually _trying_ to be quiet for a change. Pulling on her socks, Lucy tiptoed down the stairs, nearly jumping when something dropped.

"Drake dropped an egg! Drake dropped an egg!" A giggle followed the statement and Lucy tiptoed closer, peeking into the room.

"Shh!" Drake shushed his little sister, eyes wide as he looked up at his dad. "It was an accident!"

"Shh," Natsu whispered, putting a finger on his lips. "We're going to wake up your mother." Laila immediately covered her mouth with a squeak and Drake stopped arguing, instead, asking if he could have a turn to mix.

Lucy craned her neck as much as she dared. She didn't want them to catch her. She smiled when she saw the mixing bowl and some banana peals. Natsu was a great cook, when he cared to be, and a better teacher if possible. Even little Laila seemed to be having fun, when she could still barely hold a fork right.

She watched as Natsu put a bowl in front of her and handed her a large spoon, telling her to mash it and ruffling her hair as he went to show Drake how to check an egg for bloodspots. The seen brought back memories of her childhood and how she had missed this, father-child bonding time, and found herself grateful, yet again, that she had scored Natsu. Despite his less than refined manner, Natsu made a great dad.

"Watch out for the butter, Laila. It's hot."

She was sure the kitchen was a mess, that there would be flour and banana on every wall and eggs on the ceiling, but as Lucy snuck back upstairs, she felt content to the point of ecstasy. She slipped back under the covers to pretend she was asleep to wait.

And even if it meant pretending to be asleep for another hour, there was nothing that could make her happier than the rather messy and slightly burnt batch of banana pancakes made with love and presented with a rose and a chorus of "happy mother's days."


	3. Frusterated

**AN: **Based on a family friend, who is happily married with kids.

* * *

She hadn't wanted to come here.

It was one of those singles weekends; Levy had told her she'd love it. She'd met Gajeel here, and the both of them had been as doubting as Lucy had when her best friend had sent her off but it "Really was fun, don't give me that look, Lu!"

It was awful.

The food was awful.

The bed was awful.

The people, however, were worse.

Lucy had made it through the first five hours without killing someone, which was impressive, despite the number of boys that had hit on her. Which was what they were there for, but she didn't want to be hit on by someone who looked down her shirt and not at her face. She had lost it halfway through hour six, when someone had _groped_ her, _before_ introducing themselves, and he had left with a red handprint on his face while she had left with her high heels in her hands, stomping upstairs to get her bag because _hell_ if she was staying here another hour.

She was frustrated with this place.

She sat down on a bench outside, next to someone with a scarf, her age or a little older, and began searching her pockets for her cellphone. As minutes passed and she was coming up empty handed she realized that the only thing that could make this day worse had just happened. She had lost her phone.

Or left it at home, the rational part of her mind said, but either way she didn't have it on her, and she couldn't call a taxi or the blue-haired devil in disguise to pick her up. She put her hands in her face and groaned.

"Are you OK?"

She had forgotten that he was here. She looked up and had to refrain from snapping, "what does it look like," because he looked so sincere. Instead she just shook her head. "I lost my phone. Can't call a taxi, now."

Manners stated when a stranger told you their problems that you frowned, but he grinned. "Is that it?"

Lucy frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Is that it? Because I just called a taxi and it's on the way," he stated, matter-of-factly. "And there's room for two, if you want, I was just getting out of here anyways." And then _she _was smiling too, because she could finally get home. She had seen him before in the dining room, and wished she had spoke to this guy earlier, then perhaps she wouldn't have wanted to pull her hair out by now. "It takes forever for them to come up here, I called it ages ago so it should be here soon."

"Really?" She beamed, laughed out loud. She was finally getting out of here. "What's your name? I'm Lucy."

"I'm Natsu. So how did you end up here?"

"My friend, Levy, forced me to go." Lucy smiled ruefully. "Said she met her boyfriend here."

"Levy, as in Gajeel's girl?" Natsu grinned. "Gajeel forced me out here."

"No way! They're ridiculous sometimes, right?"

"I know. As if I was going to meet someone in _there._"

I take requests


	4. Chopped

Their eyes met from across the counter and he waved, flashing a cocky grin.

She scowled, stuck out her tongue, before returning to her work.

He wasn't sure quite what he had done to offend her, yet, but when he waved his knife in greeting, he saw her grip on her own handle tighten until her knuckles were white and she blew a stray blond hair out of her face from where it had strayed from her chef's hat. He decided it must have been his imagination, the fact that she was glaring at _him._ She must have just been having a bad day.

Until he came up to introduce himself at their coffee break, his name was Natsu, what was hers? Then he knew he wasn't imagining it, because when she sweetly said, through gritted teeth, that she was Lucy and shook his hand, his fingers were sore for the next quarter hour and his chopping time halved.

He spent the rest of his first day stealing glances at her from the corner of his eye, standing strong under her surly gaze, and basking in the praise of the manager, that he had _never_ seen a faster hand, that his spices were _perfection_, that he was their "best cook yet, keep up the work!" Her face grew steadily redder as the day went on, and as they were hanging up their aprons and putting on their coats she nearly ripped a hole in her jacket, she tried to get the coat off the peg so quickly. When he helped her, she looked ready to slap him.

He was fed up. "What did I do to you?"

She looked livid, big, dark eyes filled with a steely glint. "What's your paycheck?"

"Excuse me?"

She looked at him like _he_ was the crazy one. "What is your paycheck?"

He told her. "And yours?"

It was half. Half of the newbie's paycheck, and she had been there _months._ "You know the saying right?" she asked. "A woman's place is in the kitchen? Well, whoever said that is an idiot_._"

He raised an eyebrow, a smirk crawling across his face. "Sounds like you're complaining."

"You didn't." The look in her eyes was somewhere between excited, angry, and amused.

"You know that anonymous cooking contest?" His grin gained a few molars. "The city-wide one that they play on TV."

"Are you challenging me?" She looked surprised, but not unpleasantly so. Perhaps Natsu could get her to warm up. He offered her his hand.

She took it.

"May the best chef win."

* * *

Request: Nalu "are you challenging me?"


	5. Canoli

They always studied in cafés.

It had been Natsu's idea, honestly, because his fellow classmate and tutor looked so self conscious when he had come to her house, which was _huge,_ and his was the incarnation of chaos itself. Lucy had seemed rather reluctant at first, sweats would distract him, she claimed, but son found out that the studied better on caffeine and when she bribed him with baked goods for correct answers. He learnt that she had a major sweet tooth and was quick to be drawn off topic.

They met, every Tuesday and Thursday minimum, on the corner of Elm and Eastwood, and took turns choosing which café or bakery or sweet shop to study at, sometimes planned ahead and sometimes on a whim. Lucy would bring textbooks and notes and sometimes she'd pay and other times it was Natsu's treat and every so often they split it.

They were at a new place today, a place that specialized in French pastries and the like, Lucy had ordered cannoli, and it was her turn to treat. They were doing math. He hated math. So did she, but Lucy was at least good at it, and good at teaching it as well.

They called over a waiter, blond guy, about Natsu's height, because this was a fancy place and Lucy had told him once that she'd rather waste her dad's money on this than the fancy dresses he bought for her, and she ordered. "Hi, I'd like a tray of cannoli and- Sting? Is that you?" Her eyes lit up. Natsu didn't like how her eyes lit up when she looked at Sting. That look was for him only. The waiter grinned.

"If it isn't Lucy Heartfilia. How's everything going?"

Natsu growled, a sound low in his throat that Lucy picked up immediately. She smacked him on the arm. "Be nice," she hissed, before bestowing Sting one of her megawatt smiles. "Everything's great," she said happily. "Long time no see. I didn't know you lived around here."

"Just moved back to Magnolia recently," he admitted. He glanced around, then leaned forward. "Hey, tell you what. I'm off in fifteen minutes. We can hang then." He ignored Natsu completely, straightening up and coughing. "So, what can I get you?"

"Cannoli," Lucy requested, at the same time that Natsu hissed "quiet." The blond boy smirked.

"Nice seeing you and… he's not your boyfriend, is he?" Natsu didn't notice Lucy's cheeks pinking as she stuttered denial, only heard the drawl in the other teen's voice as he reminded Natsu why they were here studying and not on a date. "Guess not. Later, Lucy."

"Bye!" She waved cheerfully and their waiter disappeared. "What's got you so grumpy?" she asked Natsu, who was currently pouting.

"You're ignoring me." He flashed her the puppy eyes. She couldn't resist the puppy eyes. "We came here to study and now you're going to hang out with _him._"

"Well I couldn't very well be rude," Lucy explained, pointedly ignoring Natsu saying that he wouldn't have minded. "Look, we'll just study extra hard. You hate math anyways."

Not as much as he hated Sting.

Their cannolis came in five minutes, and they had another ten to study. They made good progress. Though the pastries sat nearly untouched beside them, they had made their way through two pages of intensive trigonometry notes by the time Sting had sat down at their table, out of his uniform and in a sweatshirt with a dragon on it that Natsu would have appreciated had it not been Sting's. He wasn't sure why he didn't like the guy, he seemed relatively cool, but it might have been the way he kept staring at Lucy and how Lucy didn't even glance at Natsu for _five whole minutes_ while he was talking to her. It took another ten for him to crack.

"So, Lucy, are you dating?" Sting had asked, and Lucy had turned red and stared at her knees and said no, she wasn't, she had never had a boyfriend. This seemed to please him. He leaned in, grinned cockily. "Well, then, what do you think of-"

Natsu stood up, all at once, chair crashing to the floor. With a feral growl he practically hissed "She's mine," kissed Lucy hard on the lips, and dragged her out of the store, stammering and blushing behind him. Sting leaned back, satisfied. He had noticed the attraction between the two immediately.

They had just needed a little push.

* * *

Request: NatsuXLucyXSting, jealousy fic.


	6. Dragon Dance

This was by no means Lucy's first Chinese New Years parade, so she knew what to look for, and when.

The boy who beat the drum came first, strong arms thumping out the rhythm that the rest of them danced to. Then twirled the one who held the pearl, representing knowledge, wisdom, a slight girl with bright eyes and brilliantly blue hair who handled her stick with ease, let it spin and twirl as if it wasn't on a pole, rather an extension of her arm.

She, Lucy, had pushed her way through the crowd, hitching her hanfu up over her ankles so that neither she nor anyone else would trip on it, step on it. She had made it to the front of the crowd, nearest to the parade, and she leaned forward, stood on her tiptoes to get a better view.

And then came the head of the dragon.

Her eyes were drawn to it, not because it was the head but because of the dancer controlling it. He was different, special, she could tell. She caught his eye, she could have sworn but it must have been her imagination, and he grinned.

He was a dragon himself, strong, powerful, there was life in his steps and light in his eyes and she swore his feet barely touched the ground. He was filled with the freedom a boy who was the head of a river spirit should be. She couldn't help but clap, laugh out loud and she wished for more space so that she could dance too. She wished that _she_ had been allowed to perform in a dragon dance, but Jude Heartfilia would never let his daughter do such a thing. She missed her mother, her mother had loved when she danced.

She must have seemed put down, because he, the head of the dragon, his grin lost a few molars, Lucy could have sworn. But it must have been her imagination because the splendid dragon dancer couldn't notice her in this big, bustling crowd full of cheering people. Even so, Lucy found herself running in the same direction the parade was going, as if to meet them at the end, struggling to keep up with them. She dodged and weaved in her own dance of sorts through the crowds, next to the dragon dancers because she loved dragons and dance and she wanted to watch that pink-haired dancer twirl and flip and because she could.

Until she reached near the end and someone stepped on her hanfu and someone else shoved her and she was sent sprawling, stumbling to the ground and by the time she had managed to sit up, but not stand, the parade was over and she couldn't see any of the multitude of dancers. She put her face in her hands, when a voice interrupted her misery.

"Hey, you OK?" She opened her eyes to the a calloused hand outstretched to her and a familiar face. ""I'm Natsu, " the dragon dancer said. "Need a boost?"


	7. Lifetimes

They both stopped short.

He knew he had seen her before, but couldn't for the life of him say _where,_ the sight of her alone made something protective and fierce blood in his chest. He tugged at his scarf and ruffled his hair nervously, because she had stopped too and perhaps he _wasn't_ crazy.

She knew he was familiar. At the sight of his pink hair, she cold hear the crackle and roar of flames and smell smoke that made her nose tickle. Her hands went to her keys, she didn't know why, and her mind went to Loki. But of course her chauffer and friend wasn't here. _He_ had stopped too, she noticed. Maybe she wasn't going insane.

They both raised their hand to wave in synchronization, and she burst into giggles the same moment he laughed, and the ice was broken. She walked over to him.

"You look so familiar," she said out loud. "I'm Lucy."

His face lit up. Lucy. It sounded so right, despite the odd instinct that Lucy was just too long, and Luce would be better. Much better. But Lucy was nice too, just Lucy, not… whatever her last name was.

"I'm Natsu Dragneel," he stated proudly, he was proud of his name, and his father, and she smiled because it just clicked so _right_ in her head, like an empty spot had just been filled and she knew she'd never forget his name no matter how hard she tried. She flashed a smile like a thousand stars and he new that she mirrored their movements and loved them, though he didn't know how. Perhaps it was the same reason that she knew if she had dared to check, he'd smell like a campfire but not a smoker, because one smelled wonderful while the other like death.

"I know this is crazy, but…" he trailed off. "Do you… want to go out to lunch?"

She had never thought she'd be the girl to agree to a date with a stranger she met on the street, literally, she didn't know his age or address and she could be a serial killer for all he was aware of, but it felt right to keep on going, not walk away and pretend it never happened, like she _didn't_ feel the click when she saw his scarf, though she felt like it should have had scales for some reason.

"Alright, Natsu," she agreed, liking the way his name tasted on her tongue. "We'll split it." Because she was _still_ Lucy Heartifillia, and hell if she was going to let a complete stranger treat her for lunch. That was her job. "There's a nice café down that way. It's so pretty, why don't we eat outside?"

"Sounds good! Come on, Luce!"

He was ahead of her now, and waving at her to hurry up, and for a second her vision flared and she thought she could see a blue cat over his shoulder, but seconds later everything was normal again, and the only thing odd was the fact that she was still going out with a stranger.

The charm on his bag caught the light as they walked towards the café together, talking as if they had known each other for lifetimes and not minutes. And perhaps they had.

* * *

Request: Nalu, based on season 2 ending.


	8. Pilot

He had seen the smoke go up from a mile away. Had he been paying attention, he would have noted the plane's dizzying descent, as its pilot made the forced landing as far from lethal as possible. Maybe he would have caught sight of the letters painted on its wings, however unlikely it was, or if he had been watching earlier, would have seen the skill of the pilot in action.

But the crash got his attention.

The crash was what made Natsu hop in his car, foot pressed hard on the gas. There was no one for another two miles at least, probably more, so he didn't need to watch where he was driving. He could just concentrate on getting there faster.

By the time he had reached the disaster, the smoke was clearing, and the pilot stirring in the cockpit. Natsu let the door slam behind him as he rushed over to see if he could help. He was no stranger to disasters himself.

"Hey! You! Are you all-"

A groan, a high, feminine groan, made Natsu stop short. The pilot turned his, no, her face towards Natsu's voice. "Little help?" she asked.

He was struck dumb for a moment, woman just _weren't_ pilots, but woman or not, she was still stuck. With a grunt he managed to make enough spaced between the plain and the ground for her to crawl to safety, coughing from the smoke as soon as she was standing. She pulled off her helmet and goggles, letting her blond hair fall to her shoulders before searching her wrist for something to tie it back with. She tugged her gloves off with her teeth, tucking them into her belt. A trickle of blood ran down her face.

"Thanks." She held out her hand. "Lucy Heartifillia."

"Natsu Dragneel." He shook it, watched as she turned to look at her plane with a muttered curse or two. Despite her pale face, she looked like she'd pass out any time now, she walked around the plane, kicking at the broken wing.

"Loke is never going to let me hear the end of this," she muttered.

"Loke?"

"A friend." She turned to Natsu and her face softened. "You wouldn't happen to be able to drive me to the nearest town?" Lucy touched the gash on her forehead, wincing. It would need stitches, Natsu noted. And would probably leave a scar. It was a good thing she had bangs, but even then, it would still be visible. That kind of thing bothered girls, didn't it?

"I have a first aid kit in my car," Natsu offered. "I could patch you up until we can get to a doctor."

"Yah?" Lucy smiled, eyes a little out of focus. "That's nice of you. Thanks."

"No problem." He took her arm carefully, and she gripped his, as he led her to his car. He opened the door, and she sat on the seat sideways, legs dangling, door opened. He opened the trunk and pulled out some alcohol and bandages. Natsu crouched in front of her, pulled out a handkerchief, and pushed her hair out of her face with his hand. He began dapping at the cut. She had probably hit her head in the crash.

"You're good at this," Lucy remarked. She didn't squirm, despite the sting of the alcohol he was quite aware of. "Do this a lot?"

"I make fireworks," Natsu explained, pressing down on the wound to stood the bleeding. It was why he was here, in this abandoned field, in the first place. He was testing out new col8ors, new combinations, and scouting out a safe sight for his next show. "Not the safest job."

"Mmm." She hissed as he gave the wound a final prod. "Will you take me to a show one day?"

It took him aback, but he nodded. It seemed best to humor her at the moment. The blood loss was probably making her woozy.

"I'll take you on a flight," Lucy promised. "I've been flying for years, and I've never crashed. But there was a bird this time." She frowned, as he wrapped her forehead in bandages. "I couldn't just _hit_ _it_."

"Course not." He smiled, ducking down at Lucy's eye level to make sure the bandages were right. "I'll take you up on that."

She grinned impishly. "Good." And then Lucy kissed him squarely on the cheek, so quickly, Natsu couldn't blink. He felt himself turning red, even as she made herself comfortable in his car. "To the hospital?"

He was only able to nod.

* * *

Request: Nalu, broken wings


	9. Two Roads

_"TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,_

_And sorry I could not travel both_

_And be one traveler, long I stood_

_And looked down one as far as I could_

_To where it bent in the undergrowth;"_

"I don't get it." Lucy looked up to where her partner was interrupting her, yet _again._ She scowled as he continued on with his rant. "He took the road less traveled by. We all know that. Why do we have to read the poem?"

"Because," Lucy ground out, "we are in an _English_ class. We learn _literature_ here. Robert Frost is a famous author, and we are doing a unit on him." She ran her fingers through her blond hair in exasperation. Natsu Dragneel was by no means stupid; he was just smart when he wanted to be. And during class wasn't one of those times, she gathered. Why had Mr. Clive paired them up again?

"But why?"

"Because the teacher says so! That's why!"

His facial features twisted into a wicked grin. "You don't have to _yell_, Luce." Lucy looked around. She was standing up, leaning close to Natsu, and the class was pin-drop silent. She sat down quickly, cheeks a flaming scarlet. Mr. Clive was chuckling. She sat down hurriedly, eyes glued to her desk. Of course Natsu would make her embarrass herself. Ever since she had met him, and that was a long, _long_ time ago, that had always been his specialty.

"Hey, Lucy?"

"What?" she spat, and he flinched away. She could see him search for something new to say, that wouldn't rile her up any more because Natsu _new_ that being on the receiving end of one of Lucy's particularly angry punches was not a nice place to be.

"Why would you go on the road less traveled?" He actually sounded curious, but she was in no mood to humor him.

"Because there's less people there," she muttered. Natsu nodded sagely, and she had to snort. The look was just wrong on his face.

"Well, I'd be there too, then."

She had to admit she was curious. Natsu was a social person, with lots of friends and a low tolerance for alone time. "Why?"

He looked at her like _she_ was the stupid one. "Because that's where you'd be, Lucy. Why else?"

* * *

Request: Nalu, Two roads


	10. Hashtag Goodnight

She had a math test the next day, a piano class, a speech in public speaking, and a monolog for drama. Lucy's eyes were itching and she placed the dregs of her third cup of coffee with the other two.

Slipping under the blankets was a relief after the long day she had lived through, including a blown up microwave, Natsu, and an incident with the school sprinklers, also Natsu. Of course the moment her head hit her pillow was when the insomnia kicked in. Lucy scrolled through tumblr on her phone for a little bit, fluffed her pillows, changed Pjs twice, got a cup of water, and then another.

Too hot, too cold, just not sleepy yet. But like always, eventually Lucy started nodding off.

Which was, of course, when her phone beeped.

Lucy's hand groped around her night table, finding her cell phone and gripping it tightly. She tapped in her password, P-L-U-E, more by memory than sight. She grimaced at the phones' glare. It was a snapchat.

From Natsu, of course. As if he hadn't made her day long enough. Though not the only person up this late, he was undoubtedly the only person impulsive, or maybe cheeky, enough to message her this late.

Especially after last time…

She couldn't ignore him. Just put her phone down and pretend she didn't see it until morning, or lunch, or never. But then he'd do it again, and wake her up. And if she turned her phone off she'd have no alarm in the morning. With a grumble, she decided the best option was to give him a scolding and go back to sleep.

Natsu's grinning face filled the screen, making her eyes urn from the colors.

-YOU UP?

That's what he had written. Of course she was up. She was reading his message. If she had been asleep she wouldn't be pressing the picture button so hard her iPhone feared for its life.

-NO THANKS TO YOU.

The face she sent was annoyed and angry, and she couldn't feel Natsu shudder from the other side of the screen. Lucy switched to message.

=Do you know what time it is, Natsu? It's 3:30! In the MORNING!

Even his text sounded sheepish, this simple "sorry?" holding depth.

= Good night.

Lucy's finger jabbed send impatiently, and she put her phone on the night table with a bang. A beep signaled a final message. She had to look.

= Good night, Lucy!

Lucy burrowed into the covers and closed her eyes. And then she went to sleep.

* * *

Request: Natsu sending Lucy snapchats at bad times.


	11. Snowballs

Her feelings on winter were many, a mixed up bundle of nostalgia and anger, noses pushed up to cold glass, fireplaces and empty rocking chairs, stories of Jack Frost and cold, empty rooms, filled with people but no souls. But it hadn't always been like that.

When Lucy had been small, snow was hot chocolate and snow-girls with Mama, who bundled up despite the cold to wrestle snowballs into snow boulders. It was bundling up to grunt and push and search frantically for an appropriate pair of sticks for arms and the last carrot, which Lucy no longer had to eat for dinner because it was being used as a nose. It was mittens and red noses and the occasional snowball fight when Papa wasn't busy with work.

In first grade, snow storms meant knitted scarves and no school. An extra day with Mama, even if she was too tired to play outside where the _fun_ was. It was dragging her out by the arm, if only to the porch, to see the smaller snow-girl Lucy had made _all by herself_, and the snow-mama and papa, all holding hands. Hot tea and books and stories wrapped up in quilts in front of the fireplace. The woodsmoke tickled her nose, but it was worth it.

When she was younger, snow days were magical and wonderful and _perfect._ It was like living in a fairy tale, where she was the princess in a world where it rained diamonds and powdered sugar.

When her mother died, snow days were just cold.

Lucy was probably the only high schooler who hadn't been looking forward to the blizzard the entire week, planning out what to do and who to do it with. Instead, she was praying for the streets to be clear instead of the snow to stick. Snow days meant being stuck in the house, empty of everyone who counted, with the father who was tiring of her. Snow days meant being at home, instead of at school with the people who actually appreciated her presence for more than the connections it could get them.

When the E-mail came telling her that the roads were too icy for the busses to risk the trip to and from school, Lucy nearly sat down and cried.

Instead she finished her homework, chemistry, made sure the fridge was stalked up, it was, but they were out of chocolate, and went to sleep.

…

_Thud._

_Thud._

The sound of something repeatedly hitting her window was what woke her up, instead of her body being so saturated in sleep it couldn't take it anymore. That had been the plan.

At first, as Lucy rubbed sleep out of her eyes, she thought she had imagined the noise. Or maybe it was snow, falling off the roof or a tree. But, no, there it was again, and again, too constant to be anything not man-made. The thud of something soft on glass.

Lucy peeked at her alarm clock though squinted eyes. Nine-thirty. She had been hoping to sleep the day away. It would have been easier than dealing with her father. Maybe if she just ignored it, rolled over and went back to sleep…

_Thud._

And there it was again. Standing up, wrapping the blankets around her in order to preserve warmth, Lucy trudged over to the window to yell at whatever idiot had woken her up.

_Thud._

"Lucy!"

Wait. She knew that voice. It was much too early to be shouting, so of course it could only be one person. Lucy pushed the curtains aside, opening the window. There he was, wrapped up in a scarf, his usual mop of pink squashed underneath a ski cap. When he saw her, he looked up and waved.

"Lucy!" He grinned, dropping the snowball he was just winding up to toss. His aim was spectacular. "I knocked on the door, but your dad told me to scram."

"Natsu," Lucy called, teeth chattering already. Her room was warm, and her pajamas too light for even this amount of contact with the air. Her nose was already turning pink. "What do you want?"

He rolled his eyes. She swore she could see it, all the way from her second floor bedroom.

"It's a snow day," Natsu said, as if it was obvious. "That means snowball fights."

"And?"

"You can't have a snowball fight with one person." Natsu started making his way around the house to the side door. "Going through the back! Suppeto will let me in!"

"You should have gone there first, you moron!" Lucy called, grinning. She had barely changed before he came running up the stares, two at a time. She met him at the top. He was wearing that stupid smile of his, the one he got whenever he was doing something that he really loved. He grabbed her gloved hand in his own, already dragging her back down.

"Dad's making pancakes," he informed her, as they waved goodbye to Suppeto and staff, Natsu closing the door behind him. They half skipped, half ran towards his house, all of four blocks away. "And Wendy wouldn't eat 'em without you. We're going sledding later too." His cheeks flushed with excitement and the cold. "Ever been?"

Lucy smiled so hard; she could barely feel the cold. "No."

"That's alright." Natsu squeezed her hand. "I'll teach you."

She had never liked snow days so much.

* * *

Request: None. I just felt like doing this.


End file.
